The Eraser Plague
by MyNameIsCAL
Summary: A plague that turns humans into erasers is sweeping the world. What happens when Fang gets hit by it? Can the flock save the world and him? Is this the end or the beginning? And is Jeb really on their side? Max's POV, FAX
1. Chapter 1

**The Eraser Plague – Chapter 1**

By MyNameIsCAL

-Max's POV-

We never had to stop the scientists from coming after us. They stopped themselves. It was an experiment gone wrong. One of the scientists must have been watching too many horror flicks. The repercussions were devastating.

It went down something like this: The scientists wanted to create stronger and more vicious erasers. Unfortunately, the only way to do that was to eliminate their ability to shift from human to wolf form and make them more wolf like. I guess you could say they were like werewolves, except without the whole full moon thing. Eleven days after you were bitten, you would turn into an eraser.

Erasers were running rampant mostly through rural areas. They were hard to kill because regular bullets really had no effect on them. In more suburban areas and the city, attacks were scattered and random. The erasers were smart though. Although driven by bloodlust, they still had all the knowledge they had when they were human. Angel said she could hear their scared thoughts when we were around them. It must be terrible feeling trapped and out of control.

But pretty lame, right? Erasers turning people into erasers? Sounds like a bad horror story because they're not even werewolves. Then again, once you meet one of these erasers, you'd probably laugh in a werewolf's face.

And guess who had to help put an end to all this madness. Yup, you guessed right. The flock and me.

For the past three years we had been moving place to place trying to help control the outbreak. We were stationed in New York City right now. My mom, Dr. M, and Jeb, were heading research funded by the government to find a cure for those who had been turned. Our job was to work with the FBI and the local police, which right now was the NYPD, to capture and monitor erasers around the area. Previous to this we had been in a suburban town and then a small town in the Midwest. We didn't stay there very long because the whole town had been destroyed by erasers.

Generally, erasers worked in packs. Not to sound inhumane or anything, but most of the time they killed their victims. At least they weren't trying to create more of themselves.

Right now we were sitting in a conference room with Captain Theodore Watson from the NYPD and FBI Agent Nicholas Rhodes. We were waiting for Jeb to come tell us what our goal was for tonight. So far we had been unsuccessful at capturing any erasers. He said he was going to figure out a way to make it easier.

I let out a sigh and looked around at everyone. Fang had his arm on the table and his head rested on it. His eyes were closed, but he wasn't asleep. He was holding my hand under the table. Iggy sat on the opposite side of me. Nudge had her head rested against him and he had an arm around her. Angel and Gazzy were at the other end of the table playing tic-tac toe. Unfortunately, Gazzy kept losing. He was somehow convinced that he could beat Angel's mindreading skills.

"It's going to snow tonight," Rhodes said with his British accent.

"That's what I'm worried about," Captain Watson replied. "There's a pack of erasers who are running rampant through the subway system. We've had to close it down. If Jeb doesn't get in here soon, he can forget about anything happening this weekend."

Rhodes let out a sigh. Apparently he and the captain knew each other very well. He said it was a long story how he had ended up here in the United States and he promised that if we had the time, he would tell us. But lately, when we weren't out there trying to figure things out, we were trying to catch up on sleep and eating. By the time we got to that, we were usually too tired to discuss anything.

Captain Watson was very wary of working with us too. Rhodes always said he'd warm to us, and I guess lately maybe he had. The agent was definitely more likeable though. When we did have the rare occasion of having some time to ourselves, he would take us to dinner. Rhodes said Captain Watson had seen too many people come and go and that had hardened him. I guess perhaps even we were more guarded after all the terrible things we had seen.

The door opened and Jeb stepped in. A couple of other FBI agents filed in after.

"I know we're going to have to move fast because of the weather," Jeb began. "I've got something for you though. We'll kill two birds with one stone. Maybe we can capture some erasers and we'll stop them from attacking people."

"They're killing their victims," Rhodes remarked. "It would be nice not to have to deal with that anymore."

"I know," Jeb sighed. "Anyways, we've designed some heavy duty tranquilizer guns. Just don't shoot any people with them because it'll probably stop their heart."

The agents started to open the cases. Rhodes, Captain Watson, Fang, and I were the only ones who got guns. I think Gazzy was upset he didn't get to be part of the action ever, but honestly I hated weapons. Fang frowned at his and holstered it inside his jacket.

"Let's go," Captain Watson grunted.

We filed into an armored van. It was strange to travel through the city and see so few people walking around. Once the sun went down, people used taxis to get around. They went door to door. Anything opened late at night had a security guard now to make sure erasers wouldn't come and cause trouble.

It was a quick ride to the subway station. Two policemen were waiting there for us already.

"We heard some movement down there," one of them said. "Good luck, sir."

Captain Watson relieved them of duty. They seemed eager to go home.

We followed Rhodes down the steps and through the turnstiles. Security cameras had picked up images of erasers only half an hour before we got here. I could smell them, but their scent seemed to be fading.

"I'm not picking up on anything," Angel whispered.

We came to a stop at the middle of the platform.

"Hey, are they running trains still?" Iggy asked.

The captain shook his head, and then remembered Iggy couldn't see. "No, why?"

"Because there's one coming."

As soon as Iggy said that, we could feel the ground below us shake. Rhodes pulled out his gun and I followed suit. The train roared pass us.

"Wha-" Before Fang could finish speaking a brown blur darted out from the end of the train.

The erasers had been waiting in the last cart for us. A fire battle began. The new tranquilizers seemed to be effective though. We had about three erasers sedated. Still, the one that had pounced on Fang was still putting up a fight. I hadn't realized Fang never pulled his gun out.

Fang and the eraser were wrestling on the floor. They were moving too fast though, and I was afraid I might hit Fang instead of the eraser. Then they suddenly went tumbling onto the track.

"Fang!"

We ran to the edge, but the eraser was sprawled on the ground with Fang sitting beside it, clutching his side. Fang had been clawed across the face and he was bleeding.

Rhodes and I leaped down.

"Are you alright there?" Rhodes questioned. "C'mon, let's get you up. We'll clean you up back at the lab."

Fang's eyes met mine. Something was wrong.

"Fang?" I put my hand around his wrist and moved his hand away from his side.

He had been bitten.

"Aw, shit…" Rhodes' eyes bulged. "We better get you back now."

I felt my heart sink into my stomach. No amount of Rhodes' cursing could describe how bad this was now.

PAGE BREAK!

"Max?"

I bolted upright as I felt someone take my hand. It was Fang. I had fallen asleep next to his bed.

"Fang…" I squeezed his hand, unsure of what to say.

"How bad is this?" he asked.

"Bad." I sucked in a breath.

He closed his eyes. "Max, do you remember when you asked me if I'd do what's best for everyone if something happened to you?"

I nodded.

"Promise you'll put me out of my misery if they can't find a way to fix this."

"It's not going to come down to that."

It took a long time for him to answer. "I-I hope not."

A tear trickled down Fang's cheek. I realized I had been crying already. He gave my hand a weak squeeze.

"You'll find a way," he managed to say.

I shook my head, sobbing now. "Not w-without you."


	2. Chapter 2

**The Eraser Plague – Chapter 2**

By MyNameISCAL

Fang's wounds had healed already, but they kept him confined to a room, unsure of when he would turn. I didn't want to think about it. Every time I did I felt like crying. Two days had passed now. Right now we were trying not to think about goodbyes. Things had been put on hold anyways since Jeb had plenty of erasers to examine.

It was almost midnight now. I sat next to Fang on his bed. The rest of the flock had already retreated to their rooms.

"Promise me you'll sleep," Fang said.

I lifted my hand to his face, my fingers tracing his new scars. "I promise."

He brushed the hair out of my face and then leaned forward and kissed me. I pulled him closer, wishing the moment could last forever. We broke apart breathless and I shut my eyes, leaning my head against his chest. He still had his arms around me.

"I'm so sorry." His voice shook as he whispered.

I was fighting tears again. I couldn't speak.

"I convinced Jeb to us go out tomorrow for lunch. Just the two of us," he told me. "Rhodes will have to accompany us though."

"That sounds great, Fang. Thanks."

He kissed my forehead. "Get some rest, okay? I'll see you tomorrow."

I nodded. "Goodnight, Fang."

He walked me to the door and kissed me one last time.

"Fang?"

His eyes met mine, a look of alarm on his face. "Yes, Max?"

"I love you."

His concern turned into a smile. "I love you too, Max."

* * *

I probably looked ridiculous in the best clothes I had and my hair all brushed nicely. Maybe it was ridiculous I had even bothered.

"You look nice, Max," Angel said as I passed her.

"Thanks."

I found Rhodes outside of Fang's room. He was with Captain Watson drinking coffee.

"I don't like this anymore than you do," Rhodes said. "They're going to find a way, they have to."

"Every day I ask myself why I get out of bed and do this. Every day, Rhodes. I don't think I can do this anymore. I always told myself, after what happened, that I would never get attached to anything. But look at me! I'm here with you. I only have my position because of the lives I've seen go. And now look what happened the other day. Those kids have grown on me and I don't know if I can handle if we have to do something about Fang in the end." Captain Watson shook his head.

I took a step into the conference room instead of interrupting their conversation.

"They're going to find a way," I heard Rhodes repeat.

"What if something happens to you?" the captain went on. "I won't be able to live with myself."

Rhodes dropped his voice. "Nothing is going to happen to me, Teddy."

I guess Rhodes really did know the captain that well. In fact, I had to stop myself from letting out a laugh. Maybe _Teddy_ had a soft side to him.

After another minute I stepped out of the room to see that Captain Watson had gone. Rhodes was now waiting by Fang's door.

"You heard our conversation," he said. "Don't think that I didn't see you."

I opened and closed my mouth a few times.

"It's okay," he assured me. "The captain doesn't like his name. I've known him since we were, I don't know, seven maybe. Anyways, c'mon, I think Fang is ready to go."

Fang looked tired. He gave me a hug. If this had been during another time, I might have been confused, but instead I hugged him back and took in a breath.

"You look great," he said with a half-smile.

I felt myself blush.

It was a quick ride to the diner. Fang stepped out of the car and took in a deep breath.

"I miss being outside," he said, looking up. "Although the city's still not so great smelling."

I laughed and he smirked, leading me towards the diner by the hand.

It felt like we were finally forgetting, at least for now, about the situation at hand, but when we entered the diner, we came face to face with the barrel of a shotgun.

"We don't serve your kind here!" the manager shouted.

Rhodes pulled out his gun. "Put it down!"

The manager lowered his gun. "I don't want any trouble, officer."

"That's Agent Rhodes to you," Rhodes growled. "There's nothing wrong with him."

The manager pointed at Fang. "Look at his eyes."

I turned to face Fang. There were dark red rings forming around his pupils.

Rhodes put his gun down. "We just want some food. I'll take him outside, alright? Can we at least order something to go?"

The manager nodded and a waitress took our order. Rhodes gave me the keys and we went to wait in his car.

"It's happening already," Fang said, staring at himself in the reflection of the window. "And it's not even like I feel anything. It's just because I'm hungry. That's the first sign, isn't it?"

I tugged on his arm, pulling him to face me. "Don't worry about it."

He let out a breath and said nothing else.

* * *

Five days had passed since the incident. There was good news though. According to my mom, Fang's body was fighting it. The mutations that should have been seen in a normal human weren't happening to Fang. So far, the only signs that Fang had been infected was his exhaustion and his red eyes. He would try to lie about being hungry because he needed to eat more often, but his eyes gave him away. Although once he turned, they would be permanently red. I tried not to think too much about it though.

We were all in Fang's room right now. Rhodes had pushed a TV cart it and the entire flock sat around watching some old DVDs. I sat with Fang on his bed. He was slouched against me with his eyes closed.

"Batman is way cooler than Superman!" Gazzy exclaimed. "Superman's boring! It takes real guts to do stuff without super powers."

Nudge rolled her eyes. "Well then Superman is definitely better than Wolverine."

"They're not even in the same comic book universe!" Iggy interjected. "And Wolverine is a badass."

"You wish you were as badass as he was," Gazzy smirked.

Everyone started to laugh, including me. Iggy let out an exasperated sigh.

And then Fang suddenly snapped up into sitting position.

"SHUT UP!" Fang let out a growl, his eyes flashing to red.

Silence filled the room. The door flew open and Rhodes entered with his gun drawn, Captain Watson right behind him.

"Fang…" I touched his arm. "Fang, hey, we're sorry."

He blinked and the red in his eyes faded away.

Rhodes lowered his gun. "Jesus, you scared the hell out of us."

Fang said nothing and curled up against me. We all sat in silence watching TV until the movie ended. Then the flock began to trickle out of the room slowly.

"Don't go," Fang murmured. "After I fall asleep…"

I squeezed his hand. "Of course."

"Goodnight, Max," he added.

"Goodnight, Fang."

It didn't take him a long time to fall asleep. I sat there still, not wanting to leave. Lately I hadn't been sleeping. It felt like a waste of time when I could be sitting here with Fang.

The door opened and Rhodes stepped in. He was now in pajamas.

"How's Fang?" he asked, taking a seat on the couch.

I shrugged. "Upset, I guess."

"You can't let him give up," Rhodes replied. "I know that's not exactly the best advice, but I've always found things work out better if you're not set on thinking the worst will definitely happen."

I smoothed out Fang's hair. "We've had close calls before, but never like this. Fang was always the one comforting me and now here I am and I don't even know what to say to him."

"Well, I think you're doing an incredible job." Rhodes paused for a moment, as if he were contemplating what to say. "When I was your age, well, maybe a few years older, I got shot in the leg. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, but it was a lot of damage and I had convinced myself I wasn't going to ever recover. I almost died because I wanted to give up, but my best friend convinced me otherwise. They said I had to want to get better or I would only be miserable for the rest of my life."

"And now you're here?"

Rhodes nodded. "I did a year of grueling physical therapy and there are metal plates in my leg still. But here I am, an FBI agent. I turned out alright. I wouldn't have if it weren't for that."

"And what happened to your friend?" I inquired.

His gaze fell to his feet. "Well, we fell in love after that. I mean, we were young then. We went to college and life swept us away. We haven't given up on each other though. Someday it'll work out again. Anyways, I just thought, I don't know, it would make you feel better. I'm not much of a motivational speaker or anything."

"Thank you, Agent Rhodes."

He gave me a small smile and rose from the couch. As he left the room, I hoped that things would work for him too.

I ended up falling asleep next to Fang. Around seven in the morning, he was shaking me awake.

"Max!"

My eyes fluttered open. "Is everything okay?"

He let go of my arm. "You should go back to your room. What if something happens?"

"Nothing is going to happen." I frowned.

Fang lay back down. "You know your mom wouldn't approve of this."

"I know. I'll go then." Still, we lay there in silence for a few minutes.

And then he spoke again. "How can you lay here with me knowing that in a few days I'll be a monster?"

"You're not going to be a monster." I grasped his hand, thinking about what Rhodes had told me before I had fallen asleep. "You can't think like that, Fang. You're going to be okay. Things are going to be okay. Just, can you promise me something?"

"Of course, Max."

"Promise me you won't give up. That you'll fight if you can because we'll be fighting for you."

"I promise," he answered, squeezing my hand.


	3. Chapter 3

**The Eraser Plague – Chapter 3**

By MyNameIsCAL

It was day twelve. Day twelve and Fang was still sitting in front of me as himself. He looked tired, if anything, but other than that, he was himself. My mom and Jeb were still running tests on Fang to figure out what was happening. So far there weren't any results.

"I want to go outside," Fang said as he pressed his hand against the window. "I miss the fresh air."

"I'll talk to Jeb when he has a free moment," I promised him.

He turned and began to pace the room. His eyes were turning red again. It was probably because of his mood since we had just eaten lunch half an hour ago.

"I don't want to turn into another lab experiment." He took a seat next to me. "I don't trust Jeb."

"We don't have a choice right now."

The door suddenly opened and Jeb stepped in. Speak of the devil.

And then he whipped out a shotgun.

"Where are the files, Fang?" He pointed the gun at Fang.

"What are you talking about?" Fang's red eyes seemed to intensify.

"THE FILES!"

Fang rose off the bed. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about, Jeb!"

Jeb fired the shotgun into the wall. "I won't miss next time! WHERE ARE THEY?"

Fang let out an inhuman growl and leaped forward, morphing into an eraser. They went crashing to the floor and the shotgun spun out onto the floor.

"FANG!" Jeb screamed. "Look at me! This was a test, okay? A test to see if you could change. There was only one bullet in that shotgun. Now let me go!"

Fang let out another growl right in Jeb's face.

"Fang!" I called out.

A few more seconds passed and Fang morphed back into himself.

Jeb got up off the ground. "We've confirmed that you're not affected the same way as normal humans, Fang. It looks like this will be manageable. At first, things were rapidly changing inside of you, but then I realized your body was fighting it. Your genes you already possess overcame whatever is changing the genetics of humans and morphing them into erasers. That'll also explain why you're not quite the same as those erasers when you morph."

"This is supposed to make me feel better?" Fang threw a punch at Jeb, clocking him in the side of the jaw. "The next time you think I can do something, you tell me first instead of attacking me! Get out of here you son of a bitch!"

Jeb wasn't going anywhere though. Fang had knocked him out cold.

I hadn't noticed, but Rhodes had been standing in the hallway waiting for Jeb to finish. He entered the room.

"I told him it wasn't a good idea," Rhodes frowned. "I'll take him to the infirmary."

He dragged Jeb out and closed the door.

Fang stood staring at the door, his back towards me.

"Fang?"

He turned and sat down next to me. Then he slouched against and burst into tears. I wrapped my arms around him. I didn't need to say anything though. That was enough.

* * *

It was Christmas Eve today. Things had been pretty quiet for the last week or so. Thanks to Fang, Jeb was able to compare an eraser's DNA, a regular human's DNA, and Fang's DNA to figure out what was changing. Jeb said Fang was like a bridge between the two. Right now, Jeb was on his way to Washington, DC to report his new findings and figure out what the next step was. This was a breakthrough considering over the past three years all attempts of any kind of cure had failed miserably.

Mom was gone too. She was going back to Arizona to get Ella. Most likely we would be staying in New York. It had all the facilities and technology we needed. Things were getting a little hairy around Ella too. I guess I was anxious to see her since it had been a long time. Mom had been flying back forth though.

So who was watching a bunch of mutant freaks? Rhodes and surprisingly, Captain Watson. All the other agents seemed wary of Fang still because word got out of what happened with Jeb even though he had been the one that provoked Fang. I'm not sure Fang had quite forgiven Jeb yet, but he had been quieter since then too. Not that I couldn't watch everyone. Fang, Iggy, and I were only a few months shy of being eighteen. Rhodes told me that the captain had volunteered so they didn't have to force another agent to stay. I guess the captain didn't have anyone to go home to either.

I was sitting on the roof with Fang right now. Rhodes had taken everyone to go grocery shopping for tonight's tonight dinner and Captain Watson was holding a meeting with some officers, so we were free to roam the halls until everyone came back.

Fang had his arms around me, his chin nestled onto my shoulder. I could feel his breath on my neck and it made me shiver. It was cold too, but he seemed to be radiating heat. I wove my fingers through his and melted against him.

"We can go in if you're cold," he offered.

I shrugged. "I don't mind being out here."

The red seemed to be fading from his eyes. "I guess I thought the fresh air would be, I don't know, calming I guess."

"I can tell," I said with a small smile.

He let out a tired laugh. "My eyes really give me away now, huh?"

"It's only because I know you," I told him. "I'm sure everyone else just assumes that's the way it is, or you're hungry. I'd know even if your eyes didn't change colors like that."

"I'm glad you don't think I'm some kind of monster."

"You know I'd love you even if you were an eraser," I said as I turned to face him. "I wouldn't give up on you."

That made him smile. It had been a long times since I had seen him smile like that. I reached up and ran my fingers through his thick, black hair. It was slick from the snow. Then he pulled me closer and into a kiss.

Blaring sirens below us in the city brought us back. We broke apart, breathless. He gave me another smile and took my hand.

"Let's go inside," he said. "Everyone will be back soon."

* * *

Dinner that night was to die for. Iggy and Rhodes cooked a bunch of stuff and it was like food heaven. A meal had never felt so satisfying. Even Fang looked like he was enjoying it. I'm pretty sure that Captain Watson even let a smile slip through.

We were eating dessert now. It was a cake that Rhodes baked.

"My parents passed away right before I went into college," Rhodes was telling us. "And so Ted-The captain's parents, who were kinda like my second parents in a sense, insisted I come for Christmas that year. I felt bad, so I told them I'd make a cake for dessert. Except I ended up burning it and it caught fire in the oven."

The captain rolled his eyes. "My mother said she'd never let you cook again."

Rhodes was laughing still and he punched the captain in the shoulder.

Captain Watson's expression softened a little. "He baked another one and it turned out to be the best cake ever."

It really was the best cake ever. We ate every single last bit of it.

"Alright, you all better go to bed. We've got to go pick up Dr. Martinez and Ella from the airport tomorrow," Rhodes yawned. "The captain and I will clean up, don't worry."

We retreated back to our rooms slowly. I found myself standing outside of Fang's room.

"Goodnight, Max," he said with a half-smile.

"Goodnight, Fang." I hugged him and he hugged me back, kissing my forehead.


End file.
